1974 Season Book - Week 1

Sports Daily

July 10, 1974

WFL openers attract thousands; Davidson claims, "WFL Is Here To Stay"

The World Football League kicked off its inaugural season on July 10, 1974 in five cities across the United States. The response was incredible. The following night in Jacksonville, Florida over 59,000 fans packed into the Gator Bowl, surprising even WFL Commissioner Gary Davidson who was in attendance. Davidson had attended the Americas-Sun game in Birmingham, Alabama, the night before.The WFL drew over 250,000 fans to its games and Davidson was quoted as telling reporters, "I'm really awed... the crowds have been better than I expected." Despite the numbers, a few troubling headlines were reported. In Philadelphia, a monumental traffic jam occurred when 55,000 Bell fans and 32,000 Phillies fans tried to get home after the game. In Jacksonville and Memphis power failures delayed play, and in Chicago and Philadelphia officials questioned the reported "paid" attendance, while newspapers in Orlando, Florida reported the lack of attendance. Despite the few miscues the WFL had arrived with a welcoming that was fit for a king.

Blazers Edge Hawaiians 8-7 On Strong Action Point Run

Blazer GM Rommie Loudd praises defense

Florida Blazers 8, Hawaiians 7.

orlando, fla.; A crowd of 18,625 turned out for the WFL debut of the Florida Blazers in the 30,000 seat Tangerine Bowl. The Central Florida crowd saw running back Jim Strong (pictured above) score on a 3-yard run and then catch the action point conversion from quarterback Bob Davis for the win. The touchdown by Strong, who played two years for the New Orleans Saints of the NFL, was set up when the Blazers defense forced a fumble at the Hawaiians 10-yard line.

Florida Blazers: Passing- B. Davis 8-18-55-0t-0i; Rushing- J. Strong 13-41, T. Reamon 7-32, A. Whitfield 10-31, B. Davis 4-12; Receiving- A. Whitfield 3-39, J. Strong 2-12, J. Hilton 1-6, M. Maslowski 1-1, R. Trapp 1-(-3).

Hawaiians: Passing- N. Weese 7-15-75-1t-0i, B. Donckers 4-8-31 41; Rushing- D. Williams 18-94, D. Buchanan 10-28, L. Brice 3-2, E. O'Leary 1-3, N. Weese 1-7, B. Donckers 1-(-16); Receiving - J. Kelsey 5-54-1t, T. Delaney 3-40, J. Powell 2-19, D. Williams 1-3.

Bell Routs Storm 33-8 Before 55,000 at JFK

"King" Corcoran leads team with two touchdowns

Philadelphia Bell 33, Portland Storm 8.

philadelphia, pa; The Bell scored four 7-point touchdowns and crushed the Portland Storm 33-8 before 55,534 fans. The Bell were sparked by quarterback Jim "King" Corcoran who completed 21 of 38 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns. In the third quarter, Philadelphia broke a scoreless tie with a 28-yard field goal by Richie Szaro and then opened up the offense to lead 25-0 by halftime as Corcoran executed three touchdown drives, capping two with scoring passes. WFL officials were impressed with the turnout- the Bell outdrew the Philadelphia Phillies on the same night. (Claude Watts, pictured above). This game was televised by HBO Sports.

Philadelphia Bell: Passing- J. Corcoran 21-38-227-2t-0i, F. DiMaggio 0-1-0-0t-0i; Rushing- C. Watts 16-94, J. Land 14-73-2t, C. Bowens 6-18, A. Thompson 5-17, J. Corcoran 1-(-1); Receiving- L. Hill 5-42, D. Shanklin 5-35, J. Land 4-32, V. Papale 3-39, M. Carter 1-36, C. Bowens 1-25-1t, A. Thompson 1-14-1t, P. Dunn 1-4.

Portland Storm: Passing- G. Barton 4-16-44-0t-0i, .D Van Galder 4-15-22-0t-0i; Rushing- M. Kendricks 14-63-1t, R. Smith 6-9, C. Turner 7-11, D. Van Galder 1-(-3); Receiving- C. Turner 2-11, R. Smith 2-7, J. Krieg 1-39, R. Ferguson 1-8, S. Dickerson 1-6.

Fire Shuts Out Texans Before 36,251; Virgil Carter Passes For Two Touchdowns

Chicago Fire 17, Houston Texans 0.

chicago, il; Chicago Fire quarterback Virgil Carter, who had previously starred for the Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL, completed 21 of 34 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Chicago Fire to a 17-0 win over the Houston Texans. Carter hit wide receiver James Scott and running back Cyril Pinder (pictured above) for touchdowns and kicker Chuck Ramsey added a 30-yard field goal to lead the Fire before 42,100 Chicago fans. The Fire defense, led by Ron Porter and Rudy Kuechenberg, swarmed over the Texans limiting the team to minimal yardage throughout the game.

Chicago Fire: Passing- V. Carter 21-34-184-2t-3i; Rushing- M. Kellar 11-24, V. Carter 3-30,  C. Heath 10-16 14, C. Pinder 3-3; Receiving- J. Scott 10-84-1t, J. Dolbin 6-60, C. Heath 1-13,  D. Burchfield 1-15 13, J. Seymour 1-8, C. Pinder 1-5-1t, L. Palmer 1-1.

Houston Texans: Passing- D. Trull 8-17-48-0t-0i, M. Taliaferro 2-3-10-0t-0i; Rushing- P. Gipson 11-35, M. Richardson 9-34, J. Nance 12-33, M. Taliaferro 1-12, S. Blanks 2-10, D. Trull 2-2, C. Latourette 1-(-10); Receiving- W. Frazier 3-28, S. Blanks 1-11, R. Eber 1-10, P. Zaeske 1-6, J. Odom 1-6, J. Nance 1-3, P. Gipson 1-(-1), V. Robinson 1-(-5).

Williams Interception For A Touchdown Leads Ams To Win, 11-7

53,231 come out to Legion Field

Birmingham Americans 11, Southern California Sun 7.

birmingham, al.; Steve Williams, an Americans defensive back, returned an intercepted pass 50 yards to lead the Birmingham Americans to a 11-7 victory over the Southern California Sun before 53,231 fans at Birmingham's Legion Field. The touchdown tied the game and then quarterback George Mira passed to Paul Robinson (pictured above) to make it an 8-7 Americans lead. In the fourth quarter, Earl Sark kicked a 26-yard field goal for Birmingham to seal the win.

Birmingham Americans: Passing- G. Mira 8-16-86-0t-4i, M. Reed 1-5-11-0t-0i; Rushing- P. Robinson 21-79, C. Harraway 10-28, C. Bartles 6-24, G. Mira 2-10, M. Reed 1-3; Receiving- D. Homan 3-50,P.  Robinson 2-24, T. Powell 2-19, A. Jenkins 1-7, C. Harraway 1-3.

Southern California Sun: Passing- T. Adams 11-23-162-0t-1i, G. Valbuena 3-5-26-0t-0i; Rushing- K. Johnson 24-88-1t, J. McAlister 6-12, I. Harris 1-15, G. Valbuena 2-12, T. Adams 1-7; Receiving- D. Williams 4-47, T. Lindsey 3-22, K. Johnson 3-14, J. McAlister 2-83, R. Nelson 1-19, I. Harris 1-3.

Southmen Rout Detroit 34-15 Before 30,000

Memphis welcomes Grizzlies with good crowd and Elvis Presley

Memphis Southmen 34, Detroit Wheels 15.

memphis, tn.; The Memphis Southmen, exiled from Toronto by the Canadian parliament, whipped the Detroit Wheels 34-15. Southmen running back JJ Jennings ran for 107 yards and scored the first-ever Memphis touchdown, and the Southmen defense limited Larry Radcliff (pictured above) and the Wheels running backs to only 56 yards rushing. The Memphis crowd of 30,122 fans welcomed their home team with a roar, and Elvis Presley was seen in the stands.

Memphis Southmen: Passing- J. Huarte 7-13-145-1t-1i, D. White 2-3-21; Rushing- J. Jennings 22-107-1t, W. Spencer 15-48, P. Miles 8-24-2t, J. Harvey 3-21, D. White 1-7; Receiving- J. Jennings 4-83, G. Shirk 7-40-1t, J. Harvey 1-19, J. Ettinger 1-12, B. Houmard 1-9, W. Spencer 1-3.

Detroit Wheels: Passing- S. Wyche 16-30-226-1t-0i; Rushing- S. Scarber 10-24-1t, D. Livingston 1-0, S. Wyche 2-7, L. Radcliff 3-6, L. Fobbs 8-6, J. Rathje 1-4; Receiving- H. Bryant 7-153-1t, S. Scarber 3-39, L. Fobbs 3-23, C. McKee 2-9, S. Joppru 1-2.

Sharks Defeat Stars In Opener Before 59,112

July 11, 1974

Jacksonville Sharks 14, New York Stars 7.

jacksonville, fla.; The New York Stars lost to the Jacksonville Sharks 14-7, before a crowd of 59,112, and the WFL's first national television audience. The Sharks winning touchdown, with only 2:12 remaining in the fourth quarter, followed a block of a Robby Reynolds punt at the Stars 20-yard line. Ike Lassiter, a 260 pound ex-Oakland Raider blocked the punt and Rich Thomann recovered the ball and ran to the Stars 7. Two plays later, running back Tommy Durrance (pictured above) ran a sweep and fumbled the ball into the end zone where guard O.Z. White recovered it for the winning score. WFL Commissioner Gary Davidson was in attendance.

New York Stars: Passing- T. Sherman 15-34-202-1t-0i; Rushing- B. Gladieux 9-53 43, D. Richards 12-33, J. Ford 9-38, B. Hermanni 1-17, T. Sherman 4-5; Receiving- G. Sauer 7-77-1t, R. Parsons 3-67, A. Young 3-35, B. Hermanni 1-20, B. Gladieux 1-3.

Jacksonville Sharks: Passing- K. Stephenson 10-23-112-0t-0i; Rushing- T. Durrance 21-80, R. Lake 6-8, R. Lamb 2-7, K. Stephenson 4-(-6); Receiving- D. Hughes 2-44, R. Lake 2-16, T. Durrance 2-5, D. Buie 1-23, R. Lamb 1-14, T. Lomax 1-16, K. Krepfle 1-(-6).

Week One MVP:

JJ Jennings, Memphis Southmen

WFL Week One Top Performers:

Passing - King Corcoran, Philadelphia Bell 21 of 38, 227 yards, 2 touchdowns

Rushing - JJ Jennings, Memphis Southmen 22 carries 107 yards, 1 touchdown

Receiving - Hubie Bryant, Detroit Wheels 7 receptions, 153 yards, 1 touchdown

WFL Standings

WFL Transactions:

NOTE: This page was researched and written by Jim Cusano and Richie Franklin. This page appeared on the former World Football League Hall of Fame Website and is used with permission. The WFL transactions were researched and compiled by Mark Speck and Tod Maher.